Open Air Stereo excels in their debut album

Open Air Stereo got its start as a band in 2001. The band rose to fame in the third season of MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County in 2006. On the show, the band had signed to Epic Records and was set to record their debut album, but production was halted on the project and eventually scrapped. They signed with Goomba Music in 2011 and began to work on their new album, Primates. It was released in late spring of 2013, giving the band an excellent debut album and it showed exactly why Open Air Stereo deserves to be in the ring with major-label bands.

The Primates opens with “Maurader,” an instrumental one-minute intro that really builds the anticipation of the excitement scattered throughout the album. It quickly leads into the album’s first real song, “The Right.” It is a great beginning to the album as it showcases the band’s high energy and distinct rock sound.

The album continues producing great songs with “Love Is Blind” and “Give Me Everything.” Lead singer Chase’s voice has the perfect amount of rasp and control to give “Love Is Blind” an edgy sound along with the band’s excellent beat-driven unity. The album’s first single, “Stuck on You,” features a clap-along beat and has an infectious feel incorporated with a classic OAS sound.

“Damned” takes a more pop-rock sound, but it proves to be one of the best songs on the album as it builds emotion and passion throughout the song. The song served as the album’s second single and showed fans the band’s signature sound as well as their growth over the span of the band’s career. The album takes a turn with “Hung Over You” as the mood gets a little darker and gives listeners a deeper look at the band’s lyrics.

The album ends with the song “Your Way Is My Way.” It subtly resembles “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, however, OAS makes sure to create their own sound and profile their unique and successful music-making skills. This song is a great way to end the soon-to-be classic Primates by an up-and-coming band. An album this great only leads to fans wanting more new music as soon as possible.

Surprisingly, the album has no “filler songs.” It’s hard for many bands to create an album where every song is a potential hit, but Open Air Stereo did it with ease. Each song on the album has its own sound, but they all tie together to make Primates one of the best indie rock albums in the past few years.

The band is currently on a North-American tour supporting the new album. Tickets for shows can be found on the band’s official website.